Climate change risk threatens 18 U.S. military sites: study.

Rising sea levels due to hurricanes and tidal flooding intensified by climate change will put military bases along the U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast at risk, according to a report released on Wednesday.

Nonprofit group the Union of Concerned Scientists analyzed 18 military installations that represent more than 120 coastal bases nationwide to weigh the impact of climate change on their operations.

Faster rates of sea level rises in the second half of this century could mean that tidal flooding will become a daily occurrence for some installations, pushing useable land needed for military training and testing into tidal zones, said the report titled “The U.S. Military on the Front Lines of Rising Seas.”

Article re new NAS report titled Climate disasters could increase armed conflict in multi-ethnic countries.

Natural disasters and armed conflicts are a source of destabilization worldwide. In multi-ethnic countries, the two could be linked. Climate calamities could turn smoldering social tensions into conflict.

Natural disasters and armed conflicts are a source of destabilization worldwide. In multi-ethnic countries, the two could be linked. Climate calamities could turn smoldering social tensions into conflict.

The direct URL is here

From Scientific American: U.S. Needs Smarter Disaster Planning

Defenses against storms and floods, built on past events, will fail unless emergency planners use forward-looking data that account for rapid climate change.

 

Update from Don Watson: The DRAFT Report (116 pp.) is comprehensive with measures across a number of sectors not commonly referenced including community volunteerism as measure of capacity and is downloadable here.

From the NYTimes, this article: Report Warns of Climate Change Disasters That Rival Hollywood’s. An excerpt from the article:

A joint report, released on Thursday by Unesco, the United Nations Environment Program and the Union of Concerned Scientists, that detailed the threat climate change could pose to World Heritage sites on five continents.

Here is the direct link to the report, which is titled New Report Shows World Heritage Icons at Risk from Climate Change

Shame on you Australia: Australia asked UN authors not to include Great Barrier Reef in their report for fear of damage to tourism.

It seems ironic that some of the areas of the world most conflict-ridden at the present time may become undesirable to live in due to high temperatures rather than war. See: Hellish Heat Could Spark ‘Climate Exodus’ In Africa And Middle East. A study predicts climate change will cause sweltering temperatures and extreme dust storms that will leave the region uninhabitable.

Scorching temperatures brought on by climate change could leave large swaths of the Middle East and North Africa uninhabitable by the middle of this century, a new study predicts.

Researchers at Germany’s Max Planck Institute for Chemistry and The Cyprus Institute in Nicosia crunched the numbers and found that this area, a “climate change hotspot“ where days of extreme heat have doubled since 1970, could soon be plagued by weather so brutal that it triggers a “climate exodus.”

On the hottest of days, temperatures in North Africa and the Middle East can reach highs of around 109 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the findings. But that figure could soar to 114 degrees by 2050, and 122 degrees by 2100 — extremes the researchers say could have “important consequences for human health and society.”

 

 

See this article on the new UN report dealing with Climate Change Related to Agricultural Disasters.  Direct link to the 53-page report is here.

Millions fleeing climate-related disasters face legal limbo if they seek refuge abroad

At least 19.3 million people worldwide were driven from their homes by natural disasters last year — 90 percent of which were related to weather events, according to the Geneva-based Internal Displacement Monitoring Center.

Most have stayed within their own countries, including millions displaced in the South Asian delta nation of Bangladesh. But as their numbers rise, more will feel compelled to cross international borders in search of safe haven. They could end up in a state of a legal limbo with no rights or guaranteed help.

A study in November suggested 470 million to 760 million people worldwide could lose their land to rising seas in this century if global warming is allowed to continue unchecked. The study, by the nonprofit research and news organization Climate Central, looked at global population data and sea rise projections.
The Climate Central site. http://www.climatecentral.org/ does not seem to have mention of this study.